Discussions By Condition: Medical Stories

Episodes during sleep

I am an otherwise healthy 44 year old man who has the following, brief, and occasional symptoms during sleep (and ONLY during sleep): Shaking, gasping for air, biting tongue, and brief heavy snoring afterwards. The next morning my symptoms include: headache, sore tongue, fatigue, mental fogginess. After the first episode, I spent two days in the hospital undergoing tests- which all came back negative. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

2 Replies:

I am an otherwise healthy 44 year old man who has the following, brief, and occasional symptoms during sleep (and ONLY during sleep): Shaking, gasping for air, biting tongue, and brief heavy snoring afterwards. The next morning my symptoms include: headache, sore tongue, fatigue, mental fogginess. After the first episode, I spent two days in the hospital undergoing tests- which all came back negative. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Next time, you sleep in a reclining chair and if that wont bring these symptoms, You can trouble shoot this problem further. When you sleep flat the curvatures of cervical, thoracic, lumbar vertebrae chain will flatten and people have relaxed their bodies when they wake up. Unfortunately in your case, some cervical peripheral nerves are pinched and shaking up the body is a way of mother nature to do unpinching of those nerves. A massage to scalp also sometimes eliminate shaking. Try these simple things before you commit to spend money unnecessarily on poisonous drugs and irrelevant diagnoses by all. Read all my other posts and if need be contact me PArjuna85210@yahoo.com. My prayers are with you to get back to normal health soon.Garla Arjuna.

Sounds like sleep apnoea, a common sleep disorder. I first noticed it a few years ago - occasionally I get a sense of shaking, a feeling of paralysis, combined with nighmares and a feeling of panic that you can't wake up. I used to be afraid of it but I know you can always come out of it by focusing on BREATHING - force your abdomenal muscles to draw in big breaths, I'm sure it's just caused by momentary lack of oxygen, especially if you snore as I do. I also find it helpful to use only a small pillow so your head is more tipped back (as in the recovery position - this keeps your windpipe less obstructed).